I am having a similar issue with one of my two Outdoor Cams. It works for a couple of days then goes offline. App says it’s disconnected. I only discover as I notice it’s not picking up my dog when she is going outside or if I want to check on my cameras. I go and turn it off then back on and it usually has a dead battery. I plug it into the provided power source, it charges for a bit then it reconnects. I let it charge to 100% then unplug. Works for a day or two then disconnects.
I have created several tickets, follow all of the instructions and it still has issues. I really think mine just has a bad antenna. One of the tests I did to report back to Wyze support was I placed it directly under the base station (About 3 feet) and I was only getting 2 bars. The location I originally mounted is behind one wall and 15 or so feet from the base station.
The other Outdoor Cam works as intended. Holds a charge, stays online, I receive notifications etc.
At a loss at this point. I really just want to get the unit RMA’d. The support process is really not ideal.
I agree. I have become very frustrated with Wyze. I have been a user of Wyze cameras and equipment for a couple years now. I realize they were a new startup. I held my criticism for years. But goodness gracious. I finally realize It isn’t worth it anymore. I have friends who have other systems. I have a couple other security type cameras and equipment myself. I have become very appreciative of the other companies equipment. It just works. I installed their equipment and BAM, it just works. Not Wyze. Wyze cameras and equipment are constantly requiring tweeking. Rebooting. On and on and on. My Samsung equipment just works. Every day it just keeps working. Arlo works and just keeps on working. I have over 15 of the Wyze items. Constantly having to tweek, move, reboot, replace the Wyze product. I feel especially bad because I recommended the Wyze equipment to dozens of people starting years ago. I have purchased Wyze equipment as gifts. I worked on the Beta program for months, reviewing and submitting video clips for hours each day. I give up now. Wyze should have stayed with cameras until they got it right. My latest frustration is the Outdoor camera. Wow. What a nightmare that is. I really expected more. Much more. For months I tried to make it work. I loved Wyze. I loved their philosophy from day 1. I sent the company video to everyone. Wyze was the people’s friend. But I am sorry to say I have to move on. My OUTDOOR camera will become my paperweight so as to remind me of my old friend Wyze when we were young and idealistic. Thank you Wyze for a few good years and dreams.
I have a serious problem because everytime I turn off (unplug) the base station and later I turn on (plug) it, each outdoor camera is offline. So I have to use a staircase in order to pick up each camera and to turn off /on it.
In this way the base station recognizes the cameras and I can use them by the wyze app,
but it’s very uncomfortable and I don’t want to use the camera in this way.
So, I would like to know if there is a way by which the outdoor cameras can be recognized when I turn on the base station without turning off/on each camera.
I’ve just gotten 2 Wyze Cam Outdoor, to replace a V1 and V2 that have been outside (in some housings I bought) for 2 years. I know the are supposed to go to sleep (i.e., no live video in the app until you press play) to save battery. This morning, they were both offline and had to be rebooted, and then the batteries were at 60%, after less than 24 hours in use (fully charged before I mounted them).
I still have a V1 outside and it has worked great, from -12° in winter to 100+° in summer. I guess I’ll give these another couple of days but first impression isn’t that good.
Update:
Since my last post, I fully recharged both cameras (for 3+ hours each) and there’s also been a base station update (which now shows battery usage stats). I also set motion capture zones and added microSD cards. Since then, they have been working as advertised, only losing 1% battery every 2-3 days and remaining connected.
Yes there was a new app, new firmware for the WCO and Base all released on 14 June. My battery use is a little more than yours but not much. I am doing scheduled event recording to the SD in all 4 WCO which uses a little more battery power.
I’ve now decided to return the Outdoor Cams. After charging them just a few days ago, and following online instructions to preserve battery life, one died, and the other went down 25%. I find the recommendation to put them in low traffic areas counter-intuitive. I need cameras to see the entryways and driveway, where people and cars go in and out. I’ll be reinstalling my wired cameras that continuously record to the microSD card giving me 3+ days of recordings. I’ve had a V1 outside for 2+ years in a housing bought online, and it has worked flawlessly from -12° to 100+° F. The other V1 and a V2 are going back outside.
The problem with Wifi Outdoor Cam…If the network is down for 10+hrs…The battery drains badly. Had 68% and when I noticed my 2nd Wifi connection was down (10hrs) the battery fell to 19%. Wyze needs to address this…I have put back my Ring Outdoor (SolarCell) as this works. Since this is used as part of Home Security (which I purchased but will not install as Wyze software is Beta)…Purchased a Ring system. Wyze is good for Toy’s and Gadgets.
At least the Product works…Not being a Beta Tester for Wyze at this point. Small companies need to start somewhere…But Wyze needs to focus on a Core Product group…Businesses 101 bud…
Update: I was sent a new base station by support, which has been staying online along with the cameras. However, the outdoor cameras do not record most events. It seems that they go to sleep and rarely wake up to record an event one camera will wake up if large trucks pass by in the street(~30’ from the camera), but people walking or cars will not trigger it. Other cameras do not record events even if I walk right by them. Sometimes if an event is recorded, it will be the tail end of the occurrence.
One v2 (non-outdoor) camera constantly posts events, but nothing is happening.
I have the same issue as many others in this thread - camera and base station go offline and can’t be restarted without manual intervention / reset. There’s really no point in me having the camera if it continues like this - if I was there to put it back online, I wouldn’t need it. The base station is right next to the wifi access point (closer than other indoor Wyze cameras that work fine) and I moved the outdoor camera very close to the base (if it was any closer I could just have an indoor camera pointing out of the window). Have done resets, firmware updates etc. Mine will at least stay online for a week or so and the battery usage has improved over the firmware updates, but it’s just not reliable enough and support is poor at times. Shame as I have been a big fan and big buyer of Wyze products.
Agree…nicely said. My basestation is 5ft from the router and 15ft from the Outdoor Cam. Intermittent connections…I had a few resets in 4 months…I cannot trust the Cam or Wyze at this point(door bell, power outlet work at least). I am also a Ring user 12+yrs…while early units had hardware/software issues…I always satisfied with Support and Hardware updates…Ring has the A Team.
Just set up my unit (about 4X’s). I think I got it for Xmas. I have 3 other cams V1 and V2’s that work fine. This thing only works when hard wired to the router. WTF? Will return.
ps whats that blurb about deleting the cam while offline turns it into a brick? I think I did that…
This issue has existed far, far too long. Whatever the cause - firmware, hardware - weather - the Cam Outdoor products are bovine droppings. For God’s sake, stop telling us they’re good and stop selling them until they work. Clients are going round and round trying to use these things… I bought one in good faith but they can’t fix their own bug. They aren’t adequately motivated. Bad reputation WYZE. Terrible rep. Should be ashamed. Power cycle the cam, power cycle the cam, power cycle the cam. Rubbish.
To update, the replacement outdoor base station also failed after about 3 weeks. They have now sent another replacement. The device failed when we changed our wireless router to another wireless router with the exact same SSID and password. Factory reset of the base station did not help. This solution is extremely unreliable and has been very dissapointing.
I don’t know what to tell you, I must of just had good luck. I have been using my base for 13 months. I do have another base they sent me for a different testing reason, I set it up tested it on my network then put it in safe keeping just in case my original one dies. Fingers crossed
I have 46 Wyze products in my house, and I got a few of my friends using them too, so believe me when I say I am a fan, and believe me when I say I am an old hand at occasional tricky set ups and trouble shooting and re-installations etc. However, my outdoor cam and base station are paperweights - I gave up, they stink. I have reinstalled multiple times, tried phone support etc. but as one of the previous respondents on this thread pointed out, at some point the loss of your time matters more than the money you spent on the product, and you give up with Support’s advice to try factory restarts, take delivery of a replacement and to thru set up again. To add insult to injury, I asked for a refund on mine since I could not keep it working, and was declined on the basis of time elapsed since original purchase - so that was the end of me being a Wyze fan boy.
